Mark Kotsay
Mark Steven Kotsay
- Bats Left, Throws Left
- Height 6' 0", Weight 180 lb.
- School California State University, Fullerton
- High School Santa Fe High School (Santa Fe Springs)
- Debut July 11, 1997
- Final Game September 29, 2013
- Born December 2, 1975 in Whittier, CA USA
Biographical Information[edit]
Mark Kotsay won a bronze medal for the United States at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, GA. Kotsay was also dominant pitcher in college and won the Golden Spikes Award in 1995. Kotsay was the 1995 College World Series Most Outstanding Player.
Kotsay was traded to the Atlanta Braves in January of 2008 for Jamie Richmond and Joey Devine following a physical, due to Kotsay's 2007 injuries.
After working for one season in the San Diego Padres front office following his retirement as a player, on December 1, 2014, Kotsay was hired as the team's hitting coach for the 2015 season, replacing Phil Plantier. In 2016, he moved to the Oakland Athletics as bench coach under manager Bob Melvin and started 2017 in that role. From 2018-2020 Kotsay worked as the team's quality control coach followed by a one-year stint as the A's third base coach. Some of this movement was attributable to changing personnel among the coaching staff, but it also provided Kotsay a chance to expand his coaching experience into a variety of roles. He was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019.
After the surprising announcement that Melvin was leaving to manage the San Diego Padres, Kotsay was named Melvin's successor on December 20th. His first year as manager in 2022 proved rather challenging after the Athletics traded away some of their most prominent players such as Matt Chapman (to the Toronto Blue Jays) and Matt Olson (to the Atlanta Braves) in return for prospects. The A's depleted their roster even further in 2023, so Kotsay had a team with limited ability and/or major league experience to manage. The team's won-lost record reflected that challenge. In addition, Athletics ownership announced in April that they planned to move the team out of Oakland, probably for Las Vegas.
Notable Achievements[edit]
| Preceded by Bob Melvin |
Oakland Athletics Manager 2022- |
Succeeded by current |
Year-By-Year Managerial Record[edit]
| Year | Team | League | Record | Finish | Organization | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Oakland Athletics | American League | 60-102 | 5th | Oakland Athletics | |
| 2023 | Oakland Athletics | American League | 50-112 | 5th | Oakland Athletics | |
| 2024 | Oakland Athletics | American League | Oakland Athletics |
Further Reading[edit]
- Martín Gallegos: "'Obsession with Mark': Kotsay A's manager: With long Oakland history, new skipper to build on predecessor's winning culture", mlb.com, December 21, 2021. [1]
- Martín Gallegos: "Kotsay eager to begin first season as A's manager", mlb.com, March 7, 2022. [2]
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